Garment-fastener



No. 623,987. l Patented' may 2, |899.'

.1. n.,cou0vn.

GABMENT FASTNER. (Application filed Apr. 18, 1898.)

(No Modal.)

BY M A Tron/v5 YS,

UNrrnn STATES error.,

PATENT GARM ENT-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 623,987, dated May 2, 1899.

Application led April 18, 1898. Serial No. 677,940. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Beitknown that I, JACOB DEY CONOVER, of Middletown, in the county of Monmouth and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment- Fasteners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention has for its object the improvement of fasteners for use in connection with garment-supporters. Among the requisites of such an article are the following: It must be inexpensive to manufacture, strong, durable, not liable to become uufastened, and capable of use in such a way as not to tear the fabric of the garment supported or subject it to severe and unusual wear.

The embodiment of this invention is a garment-supporter of a generic class whose use is well known-that is, it may be said to comprise three parts, a section of web or tape to connect the part of the garment-supporter to the supporting part, which may be, so far as this invention is concerned, of any suitable material adapted to its purpose in any suitable way, a fastener in the form of a loop with a bight in the lower part thereof, and a button or stud attached to a supporting part. The fastener and supporting part are both attached to the connecting-web in any suitable way. In use the fastener and button are applied to opposite sides of the fabric to be supported, and the button is Vforced into the loop of the fastener, pushing before it thefabric, which is thus gathered and locked in the bight of the loop of the fastener by the engagement of the button and edges of the loop of the fastener having the fabric between them. It is apparent that a strain on the connecting-section will tend to force the button and bight of the loop into closer engagement and pull up, as it were, on the fabric. The fabric being held between the button and edge of the fastener,the natural tendency is to part the threads of the fabric at the point of contact, and thus tear it or at least subject it to unequal wear. On the other hand, when the connecting-section is slack the force which tends to keep the button and the fabric thereabout in engagement with the bight of the loop is removed, and the natural tendency is to loosen the button in the loop, and consequently the hold on the fabric, and the result is a disengagement of the fastener and supporting,r part or a slipping of the fabric between the button and bight of the loop and its consequent loosening.

To the end of. overcoming the difculties heretofore encountered in the production of such an article and of meeting the requisites above pointed out, my invention consists in the details of the several parts of a garmentfastener and their combination in a fastener, as is hereinafter more particularly described, and pointed out in the claims.

In general the embodiment of my invention consists in the construction of a fastener of such form and of such materials as that the fabric will be held in such rm engagement between the button and the bight of the loop that under any ordinary conditions there will be no danger of unfastening, and the character of the grip resulting from the aforesaid form of loop and nature of material will bc such as to avoid any tearing` or wearing effect upon the fabric.

Reference is to be had to the annexed drawings an'd the letters marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters ldesignating the same parts or features wherever they occur.

Referring to the drawings, Figure lis a per-V spective view of the metal core. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the loop on line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the complete supporter.

In the embodiment of inyinvention as illustrated in the drawings, A designates the metal core of a loop,which may be of ordinary wire bent into substantially the form illustrated in Fig. l, the ends butting together at a and a slot or bight being formed, as shown at B, with a comparatively narrow opening or neck leading thereto. A covering or envelop of pliable and resilient material, preferably of rubber, is molded about the metal core, as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and designated by the letter C.

E is the connecting-section of web or tape, to which the fastener is attached by anysuit- IOO able means. I have shown it attached by a collar of clip D, and this can be used, or the web may be attached directly to the fastener.

F is a section of web attached to the conneeting-section of web E,which forms a support to the button or stud G,which is preferably or hard rubber,-but which may be made of any other suitable material.

In practice the support F and fastener are applied to different sides of the fabric of the garment to be supported, and from the rear the button G is forced into the enlarged opening of the loop, carrying with it a portion of the fabric. The button surrounded by the fabric is then pushed into thebight or slot B. The neck c is constrieted, and the button G, with the fabric of the garment engaged thereby, is forced through the neck c against the resistance ofthe covering or envelop about the portions of wire forming the neck c, and the resiliency of the covering will cause it to regain its normal position after the button G is iu position in the slot B, and thus prevent the button from retraction and the fastener from accidental disengagement by the button slipping out of the bight Il.

The metal core, with its covering, forms a strong and durable fastener, and yet its combination with the resilient covering causes the fastener to assume a fiat shape and lie close to the limb of the wearer. At the same time it will be sufficiently yielding so that it will not be harsh or wearing in its effect upon the fabric of the garment, nor will it be uncomfortable in contact with the limb of the wearer, and thc resiliency of the covering is such as to hold the button G firmly and yet yieldingly in position.

'llo enhance the holding power of this improved fastener, the wire A may be made of material suitable for springs, or the parts of the wire forming the neck C maybe tempered and made so as to be resilient. The neck would then be constricted so as to present an openingless than that of the shank of the stud G. This would need to be pressedinto the bight of the loop, forcing apart the wire forming the neck C. After the stud has been passed into the bight B the resiliency of the wire will cause it to spring back into position, th us holding the stud in the bight of the loop with considerable firmness.

I have illustrated in the drawings and attempted to describe one form of embodiment of my invention; but the construction thus shown and described may of course be varied in detail without departing from the spirit and essence of my invention.

I do not attempt to prescribe the exact proportions or configuration which a structure embodying my invention must conform to. It may be found desirable to add a small collar about the wire at the base to make the junction of ends at a firm and secure,although this is not essential.

The essence of my invention resides in the construction of a fastener consisting of a metal core with a molded rubber covering thereabout, which is adapted for engagement with any kind of a stud G of correspondingly suitable form and size in such a way as to hold the fabric of the garment securely without tearing it or subjecting it to undue wear and whose construction is such as to greatlylessen the chance or opportunity for unfastening.

I have illustrated the covering as pressed out so as to form a fin c, and this may be found desirable in practice as affording a flatter surface and adding to the pliability and resiliency of the covering at the edges, espeeially in the neck c; but I desire it to be understood that thisis a feature of construction and not of the essence of my invention, which resides in the peeuliarly-eonstructed fastener, as hereinbet'ore described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A garment-fastener consisting of a metal core with a rubber covering having horizontally-pressed-out resilient finsaboutits edges, substantially as described. 2. Agarment-fastenercomprising in its construction a metal core forming a loop with a slot or bight at its lower end and a comparatively narrow connecting-neck, a rubber envelop molded thereabouthavinghorizontallypressed out resilient fins, the same being adapted to engage the garment by eoaetion with a button, said button to be held in the before-mentioned slot by the resilient action of the contiguous edges of the covering about said slot and the neck leading thereto, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of' two subscribing witnesses.

' J. DEY CONOVER.

lVifnesses:

Gno. P. BAACK, JAMES T. LEONARD. 

